Jersey City jury acquits woman and her son's dad in shooting of man she testified paid her for sex

A jury deliberated for just one hour yesterday before finding a Newark woman and a Jersey City man not guilty of conspiring to kill a Ridgefield man who was shot in Jersey City in 2010.

Ceara Valintin, 21, and Deidric Huggins, 22, were facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the May 29, 2010 attack on the 33-year-old, who was shot on Orient Avenue in the Greenville section of the city.

“Mr. Huggins had faith in the criminal justice system and a great respect for it, and he feels vindicated by the jury’s verdict,” said Huggins’ attorney, Christopher Orriss. “It was a difficult case for everybody involved. I think right now he just wants to reunite with his family.”

Hudson County Superior Court Judge Lisa Rose discharged Valintin’s bail after the verdict and she was hugged as she walked out of court. Valintin, who has a 5-year-old son with Huggins, had no comment.

Huggins was also acquitted of attempted murder and weapons offenses, but he left the court in handcuffs to continue serving a prison term on an unrelated conviction.

Asked if he was surprised by the speed of the verdict, Orriss said: “I don’t think you can ever be surprised. The jury listened to the evidence, deliberated and came back with the correct verdict.”

On Thursday, Valintin took the stand and testified that she had had sex with the victim more than 100 times, for $150 each time, and she had planned to meet him for a threesome that night.

The Ridgefield man testified Thursday that he and Valintin were good friends and had been intimate “a couple of times.” He said on the night he was shot they were to get together and she texted him, asking to be picked up on Orient Avenue.

The victim said while waiting in his car, two men approached and “the first guy tried to get into my back door and the second guy had a gun to my head.” He said he was shot as he hit the gas and the bullet went through his upper arm, into his side and exited his sternum.

“I didn’t know if I was going to live another 10 minutes,” he said.

The Ridgefield man said he had seen Huggins previously and at the time Valintin told him Huggins was the father of one of her children. Asked if he saw the gunman in court, the victim pointed at Huggins, saying: “Absolutely. He’s right there.”

“Only one person was identified as knowing (the victim) was going to be waiting for her at the location,” Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor John Wojtal said of Valintin in his summation yesterday.

The prosecution had planned to call a rebuttal witness yesterday morning after Valintin unexpectedly took the stand at the trial, but passed when its request for an adjournment was denied. Wojtal asked for a recess in order to do further investigation.